North Carolina Babies
Disney World
We are thinking of going to DW for O's birthday and are seriously planning the quickest/cheapest trip we can. We are driving and only staying for 3 days, and I need help planning this all out. I know a ton of people on here have been recently and gone with their kids, so where is the best place online to plan, find info and save money? Any help or tips appreciated!
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Re: Disney World
A lot of people get great info on the disboards and allears.net. You can definitely find cheaper deals if you stay off site. Since you're driving and will have a car available, transportation will not be an issue, which is one of the biggest conveniences of staying on-site. Maybe find a place with a kitchenette and make most of your meals--that'd be a big money saver. Also, a multi-day pass will save you some money versus passes for individual days. Owen will get in free if you go before he turns 3 (and of course Claire would be free). Only do the park hopper if you really think you'll go to multiple parks in the same day, because it costs more.
Have a great time! We went for a couple of days in November and I'm already itching to get back down there! :-)
We did the same thing for DS 2nd birthday last June except for we drove. I would suggest looking into flying first because I have seen very low fares for Orlando. I dont know how far you are from the Greenville/Spartanburg airport but Allegiant flys from there into an Orlando airport and sometimes you can fly as cheap as $40 each way. I think they also fly out of Greensboro airport you may want to check on that. Airtran also flys there cheap. I just suggest flying because you save so much time.
We stayed at the Pop Century resort which is a value disney property. Its a simple place but very clean and family friendly. The good thing about staying on property is that you never have to drive and most importantly you can do the dining plan. We did the quick service plan (only bought one for DH and myself) and were able to get enough food that DS just ate off our plates and we never bought a meal. We brought cereal bars to eat for breakfast (this plan is 2 meals a day and 2 snacks a day plus a refillable cup). We would use one of our snacks to get fruit to also eat in the morning. Another perk of staying on property is the extra magic hours where you can go early or stay late at certain parks each day. I loved not having to worry about parking, and had a bus to take us back to the hotel for naps, which we did the one day we wanted to stay for the fireworks.
We went Saturday am-Monday evening. With Saturday and Sunday in the park and Monday going to Downtown disney before we left. We only went to the Magic Kingdom because we knew DS would like that the best. Make sure to do the fast passes for the rides to make the most of your time. You can also buy Disney apps for the iphone if you have one that have touring plans and wait times for the rides. I think the one we used was called lines. It also tells you the predicted crowd levels for each park.
I would also suggest taking your own stroller and not renting one. The ones you rent are hard plastic and dont look comfortable.
The first time we went (ds was 9 months) we made reservations at the Crystal Palace. Winnie the Pooh and his friends are there and come around to each table.
I know this is a lot of information, we loved this quick family trip. I secretly want to do it again this year before DS turns 3 so he is still free.
www.disboards.com is the message board I've used for info.
We've rented condos twice from www.vacationcentralflorida.com. The condos are at a gated community 5 to 10 minutes from the Parks. They are actually a steal for the cost. We rented a 3 bedroom one in 2010 and a 2 bedroom this past December. We just can't do a regular hotel room with two small kids needing to nap and go to bed at a different time than us.
I got our tickets at www.undercovertourist.com. They will ship you the tickets for free and the prices are better than buying direct from WDW. There is a newsletter from www.mousesavers.com that gives you a link with special pricing. I just got it on Jan. 15th (it comes out on the 15th of every month) if you want me to forward it to you.
And definitely just don't eat in the Parks. Bring your own snacks, etc. B/c our condo was so close and had a full kitchen, we ate a lot there.
My Sweet Girls
Could you forward that email to me? cbrown1007 at yahoo dot com I got the email, but didn't see special pricing, so I deleted it.
I just sent it to you. You have to click where it says private link and it sends you to Undercover Tourists website. It's not a huge savings but every few dollars helps!
My Sweet Girls